Martial Cultivator

After finishing the New Year’s Eve dinner, Chen Chao and Zhu Xia went alone to the hillside behind the courtyard, where a pile of fireworks was laid out before them.

Chen Chao sat on a large rock and exhaled a breath of alcohol-laced air, feeling much more at ease.

Zhu Xia sat beside him, tilted her head, and sniffed with her little nose. Furrowing her brows, she said softly, “Smells bad.”

Chen Chao smiled. “Alcohol is something only people who drink understand. Outsiders are just outsiders, how could they possibly get it?”

Zhu Xia did not abstain from alcohol, but she usually only drank fruit wine and hardly ever got drunk.

“It seems even those senior brothers on the mountain with high cultivation realms drink from time to time. Is drinking really that fun?”

Zhu Xia tilted her head back. There was no moon tonight, and she was not very satisfied and a little angry.

“Drinking itself isn’t fun, it depends on how you drink, who you drink with, and why you’re drinking.”

Chen Chao said with a smile, “If you run into an old friend you haven’t seen in ages, and you share a few drinks while chatting about things that you haven’t talked about for a long time, that’s interesting. No matter how much you drink, it won’t feel like too much.”

“As for other times, when there’s bitterness in your heart you can’t tell anyone, then drink a little to muster some courage, and you might finally be able to speak it out. In the end, saying it out loud always feels better than keeping it buried inside.”

Zhu Xia seemed to half-understand. “So the alcohol itself doesn’t taste good, but you drink because of other things?”

Chen Chao nodded with a smile. “It’s definitely not as satisfying as when you eat.”

Zhu Xia chuckled, lowered her head, and glanced at her own little belly; it had shrunk quite a bit by now.

Chen Chao noticed her movement but said nothing. He simply looked off into the distance, calculating the time.

While Chen Chao was not paying attention, Zhu Xia stared at the side of his face, at the eyes that seemed to hold boundless stars. Zhu Xia felt an overwhelming happiness.

She slowly leaned her head against Chen Chao’s shoulder, gently resting it there.

Chen Chao noticed it, but said nothing.

“Chen Chao, when did you start liking Big Sister Xie?” Zhu Xia suddenly asked.

She was not stupid, those rumors were spreading everywhere now, and she had been to the Divine Capital herself. Naturally, she knew the rumors were all true.

Chen Chao thought for a moment, then shook his head.

When you truly fall for a girl, you just like her, that was all. You know it yourself. But if someone asked exactly when it started, what moment moved your heart... truth be told, there probably were not many people in the world who could answer that well.

But if he really had to name a few unforgettable moments, maybe it was in the mountain god temple, seeing that girl like a pear blossom, standing by the stone bridge, holding her hands before her chest.

Or the girl who stood before the Xie Family and voiced her own choice.

Or the girl who said inside the carriage: Liking me, Xie Nandu, is not such a bad thing. It was all of those moments.

But if you asked exactly when he fell for Xie Nandu, he truly could not say.

Seeing Chen Chao remain silent, Zhu Xia changed the question, “Then what is it you like about Big Sister Xie?”

Being asked this question, Chen Chao smiled. It was hard to pinpoint when he started liking Xie Nandu, but as for why, it was much easier to answer.

All of those things, piled together, plus many more that came later, that was why he liked Xie Nandu.

Chen Chao said softly, “If I really had to explain, I couldn’t do it in just a few words.”

Zhu Xia let out a soft sigh and said nothing more.

At this moment, she was sure that she liked the young man in front of her. Otherwise, why would her heart ache so much, feel so uncomfortable, just from asking why he liked another girl?

But once she figured that out, Zhu Xia became even more gloomy.

What should she do?

The person she liked liked another girl, what was she supposed to do?

Zhu Xia pulled a long face. It was a good thing the young man beside her was not looking at her, or else, seeing her current expression, he probably would have... laughed.

Well, that was how it was. Even when a young girl was full of sorrow, she was not hard to look at. On the contrary, it was rather fun.

Zhu Xia asked cautiously, “Chen Chao, will you ever like another girl in the future?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. She should not have asked that question. What if he answered no, how would she even respond?

So before Chen Chao could answer, Zhu Xia jumped down from the rock and ran toward the pile of fireworks, muttering to herself.

Saying things like: Why wasn’t it midnight yet?

Are we lighting them or not?

Chen Chao had a broad smile. Some things were obvious at a glance, there was actually no need to guess.

They say a woman’s heart is the hardest to read, but if it was someone like Zhu Xia, it was actually very easy. After all, her joys and sorrows were all written clearly on her face.

This was a simple, guileless girl.

Chen Chao glanced at the sky and smiled. “Almost time.”

Zhu Xia immediately said, “Let me light them! Let me do it!”

She giggled, and with a thought, a few sparks landed on the firework fuses. Chen Chao smiled and reminded her, “Cover your ears, or they’ll get blown off.”

Bang, bang, bang...

A series of explosions rang out. Countless fireworks shot into the sky and burst open with a thunderous roar. In an instant, the entire night sky was filled with brilliant fireworks. In that moment, Mount Xi no longer looked like a quiet land of cultivation, it looked more like a lively mountain village.

Extraordinarily bustling.

As the fireworks they lit bloomed in the sky, fireworks from other places also began to burst into life, as if flowers were blooming one after another, competing in splendor.

Zhu Xia looked up at the sky full of fireworks, her face glowing with happiness. Her two dimples never left her cheeks for even a second.

Chen Chao smiled and said, “After seeing the fireworks, the year is officially over. The new year is coming too.”

As he spoke, he pulled a red packet from his robe and handed it to Zhu Xia with a smile. “Peace and joy, year after year.”

Zhu Xia let out a soft “mm,” took the envelope, and opened it. Inside was a single skygold coin. But this coin was special, because on the front, it had the characters “Zhu Xia” engraved on it.

Zhu Xia held up the skygold coin and smiled, squinting with joy, staring at it for a long, long time.

But she quickly said with a bit of disappointment, “Once the fireworks are over, the New Year is too.”

Chen Chao shook his head and reminded her, “This is just the first day of the New Year. In the morning, according to the customs of the Great Liang people, northerners eat dumplings, while southerners eat glutinous rice balls.”

“What are glutinous rice balls?”

Zhu Xia looked at Chen Chao, full of curiosity.

Chen Chao thought for a moment, then finally said, “Glutinous rice balls are like your belly; round, but white.”

Zhu Xia let out an oh.

Then she hopped onto a rock and sat down, but it was obvious to anyone that this little girl was not very happy at the moment.

Chen Chao glanced at Zhu Xia and thought for a bit, but could not find anything to say.

Chen Chao sat back down and also stayed silent, just quietly watching the fireworks.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit dead.

No one knew why, but even though the fireworks in the sky kept exploding, to Zhu Xia, it felt like there was not a single sound. Everything was silent, indescribably quiet.

Zhu Xia thought and thought, bit her lip. Many words were colliding about in her mouth, wanting to come out. But in the end, she could not say anything.

She did not know why, it felt like if she said the wrong thing, she would lose the young man in front of her forever.

Even though she had never had him to begin with.

“Chen Chao... will you... ever like two girls at the same time?”

No one knew how much time had passed before Zhu Xia finally spoke. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz; barely audible.

Chen Chao instinctively let out an mm, then shook his head and said, “Why would I like two girls at the same time?”

That question stumped Zhu Xia. She did not know how to respond either.

Only after a long while did she say softly, “A lot of men marry two wives. Some cultivators even have two or three Dao companions.”

It seemed that in this world, whether it was the common folk down the mountain or the cultivators atop it, women were naturally considered a step lower than men.

Chen Chao glanced at Zhu Xia and said, “I won’t like two girls at the same time.”

Zhu Xia felt a little disappointed. Since Chen Chao had said that, it meant she did not have any hope at all.

Chen Chao took the initiative and asked, “Zhu Xia, do you like me?”

Zhu Xia was stunned. She looked up, and her face was already red. But it was nighttime, so no one could see.

Her heart was pounding fiercely, like a little deer running wild. She did not even dare look at Chen Chao.

”I...”

Just as Zhu Xia opened her mouth, Chen Chao said, “Don’t be in a hurry to speak. Listen to me first, see if what I say makes sense.”

Zhu Xia said obediently, “Okay.”

Chen Chao thought for a moment, then slowly said, “You’re still young, and you don’t quite understand what that kind of liking between a man and a woman really means. Some emotions may seem like liking, but they’re not quite the same. What you’re feeling right now might be one of those. So don’t be in a hurry to say who you like. Wait until you’ve figured out what liking truly is, then saying it will be just as fine.”

Chen Chao smiled and continued, “You definitely haven’t met many men yet. True liking isn’t about seeing someone and thinking you like him, it’s about meeting all kinds of different men, and even after all that, still feeling that the one you met before was the best, the one you can’t forget. That’s what liking really is.”

Zhu Xia listened half-understanding, half-confused. She frowned and said with a headache, “Chen Chao, why do you talk in such a roundabout way? You’re even more long-winded than my junior martial uncle.”

“Because the word ‘liking’ is the most complicated thing in the world!”

Chen Chao looked seriously at Zhu Xia and said, “A lot of people go their whole lives without figuring out what those two words mean. Do you really think you can understand it at your age?”

Zhu Xia furrowed her brows, but still stubbornly said, “But I just feel like I like you.”

Chen Chao asked curiously, “How do you prove it?”

Zhu Xia answered honestly, “When I asked you what you liked about Big Sister Xie, I felt really sad. But if I think about you liking me instead, I get really happy. Isn’t that what liking someone is?”

These words rendered Chen Chao speechless.

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